Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned the hecklers who booed during the Welcome to Country ceremonies in Melbourne and Perth, stating that they should “face the full force of the law” for their actions.
“What occurred at Melbourne’s shrine of remembrance and Kings Park in Perth was a disgrace,” Albanese said, per ABC.
“The disruption of ANZAC Day is beyond contempt, and the people responsible must face the full force of the law.”
Albanese described the hecklers’ actions as being “beyond contempt”. (Source: Getty Images)
“This was an act of low cowardice on a day when we honour courage and sacrifice,” he continued.
“ANZAC Day is a day where we look at those who looked for peace, including those who continue to serve our nation today.”
Albanese’s comments refer to incidents that occurred during both Melbourne and Perth ANZAC Day Dawn Services, where protestors were seen and heard booing during Welcome to Country Acknowledgements.
In Melbourne, Burnurong and Gunditjmara elder Uncle Mark Brown was jeered at by around six to 10 men, stating that “we don’t need to be welcomed to our country”, before being drowned out by applause from the audience.
The booing was allegedly led by a “known neo-Nazi”, veterans’ affairs minister Matt Keogh told ABC Radio on Friday.
Uncle Mark Brown continued the acknowledgement, despite the heckling.
An Acknowledgement of Country in Perth was similarly interrupted by a protestor, who allegedly shouted profanities.
Western Australian premier Roger Cook decried the heckling as “disgusting” and “totally inappropriate” and “disrespectful”.
Uncle Mark Brown’s acknowledgement was interrupted by protestors. (Source: AAP/Diego Fedele/AAP Image)
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also condemned the protestors’ actions, describing neo-Nazi ideology as a “stain on our national fabric”, per The Guardian.
“We have a proud Indigenous heritage in this country, and we should be proud to celebrate it as part of today,” Dutton said.
“Indigenous Australians played a very significant part in [Australian military conflicts] and still do today in the ranks of the Australian defence force.”
Rugby league Melbourne Storm also faced controversy for cancelling a planned Welcome to Country ceremony for its ANZAC Day NRL match.
Indigenous leaders were left “broken-hearted” when the league cancelled the ceremony hours before it was scheduled to begin, Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin told The Age.
“We were all just dumbfounded,” Aunty Joy said.
“We would dearly love to be out there, but they’ve broken our hearts. We want to rebuild our relationship. We want to make them [realise] that this was wrong, hurtful, deceitful and tokenistic.”
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